10 years of football

The nation’s top high school football players will go head-to-head this Saturday, Jan. 9, for the 10th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.

But not before a healthy dose of Army Strong, hooah activities.

The All-American Bowl, touted as the preeminent launching pad for America’s future college and NFL stars, will feature more than 90 top high school football players in an East vs. West match-up. Former All-American Bowl players include stars such as Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Tim Tebow and Terrelle Pryor.

This Saturday’s game also will showcase more than 95 elite high school marching band musicians who will play during halftime.

In the days leading up to the game at the Alamodome, also known as Bowl Week, each player will be paired with a soldier who has earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star or Purple Heart.

The player-soldier pairs will hang out and interact in various activities, including a skills challenge that has the pairs competing in football drills.

Other events include the bowl’s 10th anniversary event at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Alamodome, a free event with performances by members of the Army Field Band, Army Drill Team and a free concert by country star Darryl Worley.

Visitors also can visit the Army Strong Zone, a 129,000-square-foot interactive area featuring some of the Army’s latest technologies, from robots to futuristic uniforms. The zone opens 8 a.m. Thursday (and stays open through the weekend) at Sunset Station outside the Alamodome.

The game itself begins at noon (Central time) Saturday in the Alamodome. It will be aired on NBC, and if you’re deployed, you can catch the game and Army pageantry on AFN.